August 19, 2010 - A dazzling new season waits in the wings at Place des Arts' Cinquième Salle!

Montréal, August 19, 2010 – A dazzling new season waits in the wings at Place des Arts’ Cinquième Salle! This year’s program, which features 150 performances in some 20 innovative, powerful shows, offers something for everyone. As always, the Cinquième Salle champions emerging talent, research and experimentation in a range of disciplines, from theatre to dance, to music, to literature and film. The result? Programming as innovative as it is intriguing, and a guaranteed recipe for discovery!

Contemporary, theatrical or urban, made in Québec or hailing from afar, dance has carved its own special niche at the Cinquième Salle, a thriving hub of creation and production. From November 10 to 13, Québec choreographer Harold Rhéaume — unmatched at conveying emotion through movement — and his company Le fils d’Adrien danse present their latest work, Jumeaux, co-created with Yvann Alexandre of France. Korean troupe Sadari Movement Laboratory is up next with a surprising dance-theatre version of Woyzeck (November 16 to 20), performed to the music of Astor Piazzolla. Following this, Hymn to the Universe (December 1 to 11), created by Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, brings seven dancers together with 15 musicians from the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra in a bewitching show-cum-happening.From February 1 to 12, Pigeons International explores the mysteries of the body with its most recent work, the dance-theatre piece Grâce à Dieu, ton corps. The season’s dance card winds up with the Rubberbandance Group and their unique blend of hip-hop, classical ballet and contemporary dance in Gravity of Center — the latest work by choreographer Victor Quijada and the culmination of his four-year residency at Place des Arts — which premières on April 12 for a 10-night run.

From October 5 to 30, Théâtre de l’Opsis kicks off its Italian cycle with a sharply witty look at life in an 18th-century Italian village inCarlo Goldoni’s Il Campiello, directed by Serge Denoncourt. From December 14 to 23, Ludik Productions stages Fabrice Roger-Lacan’sCravate Club, a verbal joust by turns tragic, comical and explosive, starring Didier Lucien and Mario Morin and directed by Patrice Coquereau. Next up is the riveting Insomnie from Québec City theatrical purveyors par excellence, Théâtre Niveau Parking. Lastly, director Michel Nadeau takes on a text by Daniel Brooks (March 2 to 12), deftly mixing real and fantasy, dream and nightmare.

Part humorous talk, part concert, Simon Leclerc’s Les Synapses (January 22) defies description. Joined by a string quintet and special guests, the pianist/composer/conductor invites audiences on a walk through his creative process. On a completely different note, W_Box (February 23 to 26, presented as part of Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques Festival) serves up sheer multisensory intoxication in a mesmerizing audiovisual performance created by composer Alain Thibault and visual effects wizard Yan Breuleux.

No less than six festivals will grace the stage of the Cinquième Salle in 2010–2011. From September 17 to 26, the 16th Festival international de la littérature (FIL) will present five productions, including Loui Mauffette’s Poésie, sandwichs et autres soirs qui penchent, fast becoming a cult favourite. From November 2 to 7, the Arab World Festival beckons viewers on a magic carpet ride through the rich culture of the Middle East. From November 15 to 28, Les Coups de théâtre invests the Cinquième Salle with the enchantment of its fabulous creations for the young (and young-at-heart). The ever-popular International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) holds court from March 17 to 27; and, last but not least, Festival TransAmériques, the nec plus ultra of contemporary theatre and dance, rolls out its remarkable array of local and international talent from May 26 to June 11. Daringly original in its programming, the Cinquième Salle expands to fit any number of modes of expression. To be enjoyed immoderately!